Mustards

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. A variety of plants belonging to the Brassicaceae family, often cultivated for their pungent seeds used as a spice or condiment
2. A bitter or tangy sauce made from the ground seeds of these plants, commonly used to enhance flavor in foods
3. A category of sauces varying in heat and flavor, derived from the seeds, often including ingredients such as vinegar and spices

Etymology: "Mustards" is the plural of "mustard," and the plural form is a reminder that the condiment began as a mix rather than a plant. Old French "moustarde" came from "moust," meaning "must," the unfermented grape juice or new wine that was pounded together with ground mustard seed. The sauce was named for that grape-based liquid, not for the seed itself. A tempting folk etymology claims the word comes from Latin "mustum ardens," meaning "burning must," which would neatly explain the heat. No such Latin phrase is attested, though. The ending "-ard" comes instead from the Old French "-arde" suffix. English originally borrowed the seed's name differently. Old English "senep" came from Latin "sināpi," and that older word survived for a while before "mustard" displaced it in Middle English. "Mostarda," a related Italian word for a fruit-and-mustard preserve, is a doublet of the English word, sharing the same ancestry but arriving by a different route.

Synonyms: condiment